Get Your Skin Checked: An Annual PSA

For those members of the group who missed This Post, about a year and a half ago, I started going to the dermatologist.

I went to the dermatologist again today. During my appointment last June, my doctor informed me that pregnancy hormones can do crazy things to your moles and so at 37 weeks, I scheduled a post-partum skin check.

Today, I got two moles removed which was just as awesome as the first time around. They have been sent to pathology and I’ll get the results back in a week or two. If you’re feeling like a prayer warrior, I’d love your prayers that they are benign.

I also got instructed to return in three months for another check because I am officially on The Watch. I guess it’s a good thing I like my dermatologist. And that we’ve already hit our deductible for the year. Dermatology = The Most Expensive Hobby.

All of this is to say that if you have never gotten a skin check before you should do that. It is an important adult thing to do. For most of the group it should take 20 minutes of your day and maybe you won’t see that doctor again for years. Melanoma is the number one cancer among women ages 27-29. As for the rest of you who are not 27-29 year old women, I don’t know where it ranks, but I do know that if it is something they catch early the removal of the mole may be the extent of your treatment.

Once you’ve gotten that skin check? Wear sunscreen. Buy a swim shirt and be a cool cat at the lake this summer like me, my mom and Katie *. For the love of God, if you are one of those people who still go to tanning beds, OMG IT IS LIKE SMOKING CIGARETTES STOP IT. And get that skin check.

I don’t think that I have ever thanked you. After your original post, I scheduled an appointment to have skin mapping done due to my fair skin. The dermatologist was very concerned on a small patch of what was more like dry skin than any of my moles! They promptly removed and tested it. It was pre-cancerous. I have since found a few more of those little dry patches that don’t “heal”. Who would have know that this is something to be concerned about? It’s time to make another appointment.